Forty years of Anglo-Irish agreement

We have learned that support from international partners is indispensable. The principled and sustained engagement of global partners like Canada in Northern Ireland was crucial to lifting us up in bad times. We will always remember that, and we keep paying it forward by engaging actively in peacebuilding work internationally.

Forty years ago, the United Kingdom's then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher, left, and Ireland's Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald signed the Anglo‑Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle, the British royal family’s residence in Northern Ireland.Photographs courtesy of Commons Wikimedia

Opinion

BY SIMON HARRIS

December 4, 2025

DUBLIN, IRELAND–Forty years ago, something extraordinary occurred: the heads of the Irish and British governments—Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and prime minister Margaret Thatcher—signed the Anglo‑Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle, the British royal family’s re...

To keep reading, subscribe and become a political insider.

Only $7.76 a week for an annual subscription.

Enjoy unlimited website access and the digital newspaper.

Cancel anytime.

Already a Subscriber?

Get Weekend Point of View Newsletter

A round up of the past weekâ€™s opinion writers and columnists on Saturdays and Sundays.

By entering your email address you consent to receive email from The Hill Times containing news, analysis, updates and offers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See our privacy policy